Review Summary: Trail of Dead's "Diamond Eyes"
Finally Trail of Dead has given us another perfect album. Some of us were worried when we heard So Divided and Century of Self. Others, however, thought the aforementioned releases were solid TOD albums. Tao of the Dead is a record everyone can enjoy, and the best part about it is that all songs go into each other like one long piece of music. For those of you who don’t know, just two years ago, Trail of Dead was a six-piece band. Now they ditched their keyboard player with no stage presence, got a new bassist with a fro, and Jason Reece switched from drums to guitar. Sadly this marks the demise of founding member Kevin Allen for unknown reasons.
The first track is an intro much like the last three albums. It begins with a clean guitar riff played for a couple seconds. Jason Reece lights the candles by saying “Okay, let’s experiment then.” And from that moment on, you are taken on a thrill ride that is Tao of the Dead. It starts with a huge build-up, a Trail of Dead tradition, which will cause your face to ooze purple goo all over your iPod. After the proggy intro, comes “Pure Radio Cosplay.” During the heavy parts it reminds us of Source Tags as we shed tears.
“Summer of All Dead Souls” which was released as a single prior to this album is the dastardly rocker that made us all say, “Trail of Dead is good again?” Conrad’s voice never has sounded this powerful and Jason Reece really knows how to use his diaphragm when he backs him up. “Cover the Days Like A Tidal Wave” opens in a psychedelic manner where Reece reads poetry (ala “Sunken Dreams”) and then belts it at the end of the song. “Fall of the Empire” is a great song but it needs to be mentioned that it is the same chord progression as two previous Trail of Dead songs, “A Classic Arts Showcase” and “The Lost City of Refuge.”
The new bass player, Autry Fullbright II (who I actually used to know, true story) shows his ability in “The Wasteland” which is a nice short song. “Spiral Jetty” is a trippy little introduction to the best song on the album, “Weight of the Sun.” The 6/8 tune has three sections: a medieval sounding verse, a heavy beast of a chorus, and a rocking outro. Did I mention their new drummer is awesome? After the band reprises track 2, comes “Ebb Away”, a nice melodic number featuring Reece on lead vocals. “The Fairlight Pendant” is a psychedelic jam which sounds like something you might hear off a Yes album.
At 16:32, “Tao of the Dead Part II: Strange News From Another Planet” contains a couple great songs if you really sit down and listen to it. To sum it up, Trail of Dead is back, heavier than ever, and offer you their music if you are willing to accept. If not, I suggest you listen to D.R.U.G.S..
Recommended songs:
All of them
